§ 01 · What this is
Mediation is a confidential, voluntary, settlement-oriented process. The mediator does not decide the matter — the parties do. The mediator’s job is to surface the facts, frame the structure, and translate between rooms until a settlement architecture emerges that both sides can accept.
Tailored mediation differs from standard mediation in one specific way: where the dispute turns on technology — model behavior, smart-contract execution, source-code provenance, log integrity — the mediator can read the technology directly rather than relying on a translation through party experts. That fluency collapses the distance between rooms in matters that would otherwise stall.
§ 02 · When to retain
Indicators that this is the right role for the matter.
01
AI / model output liability
Disputes over hallucinated outputs in regulated workflows, training-data provenance, or vendor representations about model behavior.
02
Trade-secret in software, ML weights, schematics
Where the alleged misappropriation requires reading code or model artifacts to assess.
03
Cyber-insurance coverage
Coverage fights turning on dwell time, attribution, war exclusions, or reasonable-controls representations.
04
Smart-contract / cryptocurrency
On-chain disputes where remedies require parsing both the contract code and the underlying bargain.
05
eDiscovery / ESI disputes
Where the production fight has stalled on a sampling, search-term, or privilege-log methodology question.
06
Cross-border commercial
International disputes with multi-jurisdictional discovery and choice-of-law overlays.
§ 03 · Methodology
How an engagement runs.
Typical scale: Half-day to multi-week. $5M to $1B+ exposure.
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01
Pre-session
Position statements (confidential to mediator), key-evidence designation, technical briefings as needed. Daniel issues a session agenda 7–10 days ahead.
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02
Joint opening
Each party presents position briefly. Daniel frames the day, sets ground rules, and identifies the technical questions the mediation will tackle.
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03
Caucus rounds
Iterative private sessions. Daniel translates technical positions and tests assumptions in each room. Where the matter turns on a verifiable fact, a forensic component is invoked to resolve it on the spot.
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04
Convergence
Settlement architecture drafted, including any technical remediation, audit, or escrow terms.
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05
Documentation
Term sheet executed by all parties. Where stipulated, a written summary of agreements for inclusion in court approval orders.
§ 04 · Frequently asked
About this role.
Will Daniel review source code or model weights during the mediation?
Yes, where the parties stipulate and a tiered protective order is in place. He has done this many times.
Can he co-mediate with a retired judge?
Frequently. Pairing a technical neutral with a process neutral is the right configuration for many high-stakes matters.
How quickly can a session be scheduled?
Typically 14–60 days from retention.
§ 05 · Representative work